the sky will clear
by howlsatthemoon
Summary: "Not even dragons could stop me," he promises. "I'll fight each and every one ntil I'm by your side again." / Lily and Teddy are made of promises meant to be broken.


_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

So writing this was kind of pointless.

-;-

_and i am afraid, for your love is all i need_

Teddy Lupin is not a liar. Teddy Lupin is not a coward. He does not run from fear, nor does he avoid truth.

Therefore, Teddy Lupin must admit that he is absolutely terrified of the girl with red hair up to her waist and green eyes that resemble comets slicing through night air. The one who's not afraid to dance as she passes by, throwing her head back and laughing so carelessly he gets whiplash watching her undeniable confidence. He's scared because he loves her too much. Loves her inevitably, unchangeably, quietly.

And so she takes his hand as he breathes in the dewy morning mist, teal eyes sparkling within dark times; ages where no man can love without obstacles surrounding. "Love me?" she whispers in her not-so-whispering voice, smiling so brightly he feels as though she lights the pathway for them.

"Most definitely," he agrees, squeezing her fingers tighter between his. She grins unabashedly and leans her head against his broad shoulder, bringing their connected hands up and kissing his fingers lightly with her scarlet lips.

He leans in and kisses her forehead, her eyelashes, her nose. "Forever?" she pursues, stopping and clinging to his chest, shuddering when an unmerciful breeze attacks them, an invisible mercenary in the darkness, sleek and silent.

His hair evolves into a neutral shade of green; not too light, not too dark. She watches with childlike curiosity, never having gotten used to his ability to morph effortlessly. "Couldn't stop if I tried," Teddy swears sincerely, nodding his head and pressing his forehead against hers to get the most perfectly angled view of her jade orbs.

"What if dragons tried?" she teases, her laugh a musical sound in the ice-like silence, frozen in place and unmoving. Nothing disturbs it but the sounds of two lovers hidden. No birds, no rustles, no crickets. Only them.

A tired hand sweeps through his hair and he rolls his blue eyes, sandwiching their arms together as the couple walk at a brisk pace on the path, stepping cautiously over overgrown roots and fallen logs. "Not even dragons could stop me," he promises, "I'll fight each and every one until I spot you again."

She flushes and shoves at him playfully with her own shoulder. She keeps contact with him even when he stumbles, chuckling. "You're too romantic," she accuses. "You're like a girl."

"And it's a crime to be a girl?"

"Bugger!" She laughs that tinkling, reckless abandon laugh of hers. "Oh, shut it, Teddy. You know I love you." He smirks and she stands upon the tips of her worn black sneakers, pressing her lips gently against his before pulling away sneakily, pretending to suddenly have found interest in the empty-leafed trees behind them.

Teddy frowns and pulls her close, relishing the warmth her body radiates against his. "I love you," he murmurs against her hair, closing his eyes as lavender and chocolate wafts towards his nose, a scent so familiar to him already. The house has already shown up in the corner of his eye through sharp peripheral vision, an almost wolfish talent of his. "These walks always end too soon."

"Love you too," she replies. "And they wouldn't if we could stay out all day, every day. But you refuse to—"

He shakes his head, and sighs. "I'm sorry. But I'm not ready. Someday. Not yet. They—They need to become emotionally ready for us."

Lily gapes at him and laughs aloud. "God, it sounds like _they're_ the ones who're dating again," she grumbles cheerfully, gripping his hands and examining his knuckles as though they're the most entertaining thing upon her earth. "Our family's so ridiculous," she complains softly.

"No," Teddy corrects. "They care about you. They don't want you to make mistakes. You know, like dating a troublemaker who's eleven years older than you."

She looks up at him, eyes twinkling, and shoves him over without warning, right into a pile of snow that still hasn't melted away with the rest of the remnants of the blizzard. Gasping, he grabs her wrists just as he falls and they collapse together onto the cold white blankness, her sprawled across his chest, both of them giggling as if they've just heard the funniest joke.

"Stop saying that," Lily scolds after regaining her breath. "'Snot like I care about things stupid as numbers."

He looks at her with bittersweet grayness mixing in with the turquoise in his eyes. "Yeah," he mumbles, and stops with that.

"It's almost daybreak," she notes as the sky begins to clear up slightly, some of the sun's rays dimly lighting the bleak yard as the twosome approach the looming house that both have known for all their life.

"Another beginning, another ending," Teddy responds almost poetically, sighing heavily and kissing her head first, and then pressing his lips against hers desperately, seeking the last bits of their love before she leaves him once again. "Someday. I promise you," he whispers in her ear almost inaudibly, and she feels herself brighten almost instantaneously.

She begins to step towards her home, their fingers still intertwined but slowly beginning to break away as she furthers and furthers them. "Forever?" she calls out over her shoulder, looking back to find him standing at the gate, smiling at her.

"Forever," he breathes back, and apparatus away with images of a red-haired girl whom he loves in his mind.


End file.
